Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Yesterday, our last day in London, was wet all day. No photos but walked about 10 miles so at least we had some exercise. Also visited the Gloucester Arms in Kensington and Mabels Tavern near Euston Station. Pints of Youngs London Gold, Fullers London Pride, Shepherd Neame Spitfire and Bishops Finger. All on good form.

Train slightly late. Home a bit before 11pm, to bed by 1pm.

Today I'm walking to Buxton to run Gallery in the Gardens and it's a lovely day in the Peak District. If you can get out to the hills today take your camera, could be a good one!

Sunday, 22 April 2012

It was London Marathon day today so we avoided the areas busy with the race.

Covent Garden is always busy so we started there to give us the best chance of clear shots. It worked!

Trafalgar Square was next but was starting to get busy. Shots worked mainly above head height. Good blue sky with a few clouds to help.

Leicester Square was still a building site, as it was on our last visit 13 months ago. No photos here so on to Piccadilly Circus. Eros was good against a blue sky.

Then time to change to the business area around Bank and Leadenhall. Photos of the Bank of England, Royal Exchange, the Gherkin, Leadenhall Market, Monument, and a very interesting building behind New City Hall. Oh, I also took a shot of the London Marathon from near London Bridge.

My back was painful after all of this so we had an early finish, just as heavy rain started. Later on liquid refreshment helped the recovery, this time in Wetherspoons near Tower Bridge on the south bank.

Forgot to take a digital image on phone to illustrate this post, sorry. Just 26 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film exposed so far (260 negatives in total).

A good day in London with lots of sun and blue skies with lots of fluffy clouds. Just a few light rain showers. Good weather for black and white photography.

I now have shots of the Tower of London, Shard, St Katherine's Dock, Battersea Power Station and the Albert Bridge. I also have new shots of more familiar places like Tower Bridge and City Hall.

Some of the Battersea Power Station images were thanks to the generous offer of Pippa, whom we met at an art show last year. Her apartment is right on the banks of the Thames with an unobstructed view. Perfect.

The attached photo is of the Albert Bridge at night. This is thought by many to be the prettiest bridge in London.

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Today we spent the day on Holy Island/Lindisfarne and had pretty good weather all day. No camera again for me.

We started around the huts made from upturned boats, then took pattern pictures amongst the lobster pots before moving to the jetty.

Then around the harbour for shots of the castle and old lime kilns.

From here we went to the Crown and Anchor pub for lunch. The priory and harbour followed before we finished with the classic shot of the castle with old jetty posts in the foreground with waves crashing in behind us. Had to go back for this at the end of the day as tide was too high earlier.

After a quick wash and brush-up it was down to the bar to review the results from the day; lots of good shots.

A quick nip round the corner found us at the Wetherspoons pub for dinner. This was chosen for its position next to the main bridge.

As we saw the light start to fade we made our way down to the bridges to take the lights and reflections between the 2 road bridges. In total we were out for over an hour doing night photography. Everyone had some good shots, probably the best being the early ones before it was completely dark so that we kept detail in the sky.

Monday, 16 April 2012

Had a full day with clients on our landscape photo course based in Berwick. No camera with me today so that I could give my full attention to the group.

We started in Berwick with bridges and a few town shots, then up behind the old barracks. Nice light.

Eyemouth was next and was good at all locations. Lots of working boats, sunshine and a few reflections. Then pictures of a seal being fed fish in the harbour entrance. This was followed by catching waves crashing against the sea wall.

Lunch was in the Contented Sole with a pint of Speckled Hen. After lunch it was down to the rocks near the mouth of the harbour for the waves and patterns.

Next was down to Coldingham Bay. Here it was great for patterns in the sand, reflections of the clouds on the wet sand wall(see photo), waves and a rider on a horse riding through the sea.

We ended the day at Spittal Point opposite Berwick lighthouse and breakwater. Nice light and tide still going out but didn't stop Andrew from misjudging it and getting wet feet. Fortunately Jan caught it for posterity and it will appear on the web site in time!

Saturday, 14 April 2012

After a quick wander around Berwick we headed for Bamburgh for the castle, rocks and sand dunes. It started dull but very quickly cleared and had me running back to the car for my camera gear, foolishly left as I scouted the beach.

It was high tide and windy so the waves were crashing over Harkness Rocks. Jolly impressive! Bamburgh Castle was in the background but difficult to get the angle I wanted on the shot for fear of being washed away!

After shots of Bamburgh Castle from the sand dunes we headed for Dunstanburgh and another castle.

The tide was still high and needed care among the rocks but I wanted wet rocks in my foreground so took my chances. Blue sky here but it was heavy rain by the time we had walked around to the Craster side. An April shower!

Called in at Beadnell on the way back. Clear blue sky again. Nice light on the old lime kilns behind the small harbour but low tide so just unattractive mud as foreground. One to go back for.

Late lunch at the Craster Arms here and Black Sheep Bitter on good form.

Last stop was Spittal Point in Berwick. A beach opposite the lighthouse on the breakwater. It was low tide so I could walk out pretty close for panoramics of the lighthouse and waves.

Another good day. Sorry forgot to take any snaps on mobile phone, just 8 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film. Will take a few weeks to get to them as still a big backlog.

Friday, 13 April 2012

We arrived in Berwick upon Tweed by 10pm last night ready to take photos and sort final details for course next week.

Today started around Berwick while we waited for the tide to clear the causeway to Lindisfarne. Nice light, clear as a bell too. Photos around the old fortress and down on the beach.

Lindisfarne is about 20 minutes from Berwick and the causeway must be a bit under a mile long. First stop was the harbour with the huts made from upturned boats a bit before midday. Always good for pictures. Lots of lobster pots too for pattern pictures. Best view of all was across to Lindisfarne Castle with blue sky and white fluffy clouds above.

Then past the castle to the lime kilns (in photo) for pictures back to the castle. From here we walked round the coast north to the sand dunes then round and back to the village for a break at the Ship Inn for a pint of Blessed Bitter. It was nearly 3pm by now so just crisps for lunch, too late for anything else. A good time for a break as the light had long gone.

A quick stroll around the village and we ended up at the jolly friendly Crown and Anchor for a pint of Sacred Kingdom.

After all of these delaying tactics the sun had returned so we went back to the harbour via the Priory. The light was now on the other side of the huts, boats and lobster pots. This made for excellent foregrounds for shots of the castle.

Back to the car and a short drive to the dunes at the Snook just before the causeway. The sea was a long way out so no photos.

Stopped at a beach near Berwick on the way back for shots of the waves racing in over what looked like limestone pavement. It was 6.30pm now, the light was pretty much gone so time to return to Berwick for food at Wetherspoons.

Tally for the day: 7 rolls of Ilford FP4 film making 70 negatives in total using my Mamiya 7 camera, mostly with an orange filter to darken the clear blue sky. Unusually for me I took lots with the standard lens (80mm) rather than my more favoured wide angle (43mm). I didn't want to reduce the size of my subjects by pushing them too far back in the pictures.

Hope the weather holds tomorrow as we head south for some coastal castle shots.

Sunday, 1 April 2012

Yesterday was a dull day so walked the Cornish coast instead of taking photos. Nice day for walking, not too warm.

Started near Hayle and walked along beach then cliff tops to St Ives and back. About 9 miles.

Lots of Sandy beaches, lots of people in St Ives but few on coast walk. Lots of up and down. The 2 pics are St Ives Harbour and Carbis Bay.

Checked out some locations for today as forecast good. Then fish and chips on the front at Marazion looking over the sea to St Michael Mount.

Stopped for a drink in Hayle; St Austell Dartmouth Bitter followed by an HSD. Latter best of the two.

Today was a bright day by 9am. Blue sky with a few clouds by the afternoon. Parking car is tricky in lots of these Cornish towns so Jan dropped me off to walk around St Ives. Quite a few harbour shots, not many boats.

We drove down to Marazion and I walked down to the shore east of the village. Good view across to St Michaels Mount well lit by morning sun. I was engrossed in taking photos and suddenly realised I was within 3 feet of 4 Turnstones (waders) then as I looked behind me I spotted another 14 of them, again just a few feet away. They stayed close by as I took my last few shots.

Next was Penzance Harbour, some with St Michaels Mount in the background. Then Mousehole harbour, the prettiest of them all but a bit busy. Still managed some nice shots.

I needed some bright shots of Lands End so this was our next stop. Nice rocky islands just offshore and a sea arch or two.

Last stop was Sennen Cove, a mix of sand and rocks, and lots of people. I took a few around the breakwater wall and rocks then called it a day. Time to go home. It was almost 4pm and our journey would be over 6 hours.

Will try and process films tomorrow after shipping an order I printed on Thursday. I took 13 rolls of Ilford FP4 so should have a few to choose from, so watch this space!

About Me

I am a professional fine-art photographer working exclusively in black and white, using medium format Mamiya 7 cameras with Ilford FP4 120 film. I hand print my work in the darkroom using archivally processed Ilford Multigrade FB papers and am an Ilford Master Darkroom Printer, and the only one trained by Ilford Photo during the 21 years that I worked for them. Visit www.davebutcher.co.uk to view my work, buy photographs, books, photo courses and darkroom workshops and see what lectures I am giving. My work is also available for image licensing for calendars, posters, cards, etc.